The City of Clarkesville says it no longer will actively pursue efforts to designate a 46.9 mile stretch of road in Habersham County as the Soque Scenic Byway. Clarkesville City Manager Barbara Kesler issued a statement today:
“The Mayor and Council and staff of the City of Clarkesville were holding their regularly scheduled work session on the evening of December 18th and as a result could not attend the Scenic Byway meeting which was scheduled for the same time. It has been brought to our attention that there were a number of citizens at the meeting that are opposed to having a Scenic Byway route through Habersham County. While the intent of the Council in pursuing the Scenic Byway designation was to enhance the economy of all of Habersham County by increasing tourism, it is apparent that is not what the public wants. We certainly appreciate and respect the views of the public.
The City of Clarkesville as a result of the downtown fire has a daunting task ahead of it to rebuild downtown. We have been working diligently for the last 9 months to create a redevelopment plan that will be beneficial to Clarkesville and Habersham County as a whole. We recognize that the redevelopment project is our top priority and will require the majority of the efforts of the Mayor, Council, Boards, Authorities and Staff. While we still believe that a Scenic Byway could have benefitted all of Habersham County, we have decided to put this issue aside and focus our efforts on our first priority, the redevelopment of downtown Clarkesville.
It is obvious that we all want what is best for the community in which we live, work and play. Of course we may not always agree, however we can continue to work together for the benefit of all who reside in Habersham County.”
Clarkesville councilwoman Barrie Aycock says she fully supports the council’s decision to back off the byway. “I think it is the right thing to do. We understand that the residents along the route are not in favor of the byway and we are going to accede to their wishes.”
Aycock says she still believes the byway would have benefited the county and says many of the fears surrounding the proposal were unfounded. Still, in the end, the issue just became too divisive and distracting.
“We very much regret there is so much angst. We’ve got other things to do,” Aycock says referring to the rebuilding of downtown Clarkesville. “Our fear is that Clarkesville was being portrayed as the bad guy, as the one that was pursuing this against the will of those residents along byway.” Aycock insists the Soque Scenic Byway never was meant to become an ‘Us vs. Them’ issue. She says it was meant to benefit all of Habersham County. “That horse is dead,” Aycock says, “and there’s no use beating a dead horse.”
Habersham County Commissioner Andrea Harper commends the Clarkesville City Council for its decision to back off the byway project. “I commend them for taking that action,” Harper says. “It never was the county against the city. It never was that. I just think that they took the high road and I couldn’t be more pleased.”
Clarkesville City Manager Barbara Kesler tells Now Habersham it is her understanding that, “GDOT has put our application on hold until they get further notice from the County.”
Harper says she has personally spoken with two other commissioners who, in her words, “..are willing to put this issue to bed and we will do what it takes to stop or suspend the application. Exactly what that process is, I am unsure of at this time.”
